factory farmed chickens

"eat anything you want. just cook it yourself."

i came across this little video narrated by michael pollan. you know, the guy known for the haiku-like quote: "eat food. not too much. mostly plants."

he's sorta like a mini-hero in my world.

 

[Recipe] Overnight Oats

I'm not one for following recipes - they all tend to end in diaster. (Which may explain why I failed in all the Chemistry lab classes in college.) So these are more like "cooking guides" where everything here is "approximate" and you can tweak it to your liking.

A few weeks ago, my friend Angela started a sensation within our friends circle by emailing us about overnight oats. It's a super easy breakfast idea for summer - you prep it the night before, and it's ready the next morning by the time you head out the door.

After I looked over several blogs showcasing overnight oats (I like this one too), I realized that it doesn't really require a "recipe" persay - perfect for a lazy person like me. You just need the following:

- oatmeal (could be steel, quick, or rolled although I read somewhere that the steel oats don't soften as much and can be chewier than liked and that the rolled is more appropriate)
- milk (or soymilk, almond milk, etc)
- sweetener or flavored yogurt (I opted for the latter)
- fruits of your choice
- any container that has a closed top (many blogs use mason jar, but I use a screw top glass jar that looks more like a candy jar. I have yet to use a Tupperware but I'm sure it would work just as fine)

Optional: other nutritious goodies like nuts, granolas, chia seeds, flax seeds, etc

1. Add oats, milk, and sweetener/yogurt to container. Don't fill the milk to the brim if you are adding chia seeds (they need room to expand) or if you are transporting this to the office.

2. If you are adding chia/flax seeds, add them now. If you are adding nuts and granolas, you can add them right before you eat so they don't get too soggy.

3. Cover lid and refrigerate. Shaking optional. Enjoy next morning! Easy!

Wait? What happened to the fruits? You can add them in any time. I opted to add them into the jar along with the oats and milk in the beginning to let the flavors swirl all together, but you can also add them right before eating. Adding the yogurt probably doesn't make it as sweet as adding sweeteners, but I like it better not as sweet and I also get the added benefit of yogurt. The cool thing about this is that you can choose to follow the recipes you find online to try the difference combinations of flavors, or you can make up your own!

Now...if only I can get H to eat this, then I wouldn't have to make a separate breakfast for him during the summer months...

Video: The Hidden Costs of Hamburger

I came across a video made by the Center for Investigative Reporting on the other costs of making a hamburger, in terms of the impact on the waistline, the environment, and the planet. I like how the information is portrayed in an easy-to-understand way and also goes into (slightly) of subsidized corn. Don't get me wrong - I like meat. But I do think that Americans eat too much red meat. Anyway, it's only about 8 minutes long. Check it out!

UNREAL Candy

Woah, this is interesting.

I just came across a new product called UNREAL. It's candy unjunked: "UNREAL™ is starting with candy, because it’s the worst offender when it comes to “junk” – corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, GMOs, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. To “unjunk” means to replace all these ingredients with real cane sugar, real milk, more peanuts, and more cacao." (Per Q&A)
Sounds like a healthier candy bar, no? The website also states, "We don’t consider candy to be “healthy” for you. It’s a delicious treat that we love. What we’ve done is give people a better choice, so that when they go looking for candy, they have the option to avoid the junk."
 
Bravo. I love the honesty. There is no way to not eat candy, ever. Or chips. Or fast food (think road trip). But it's definitely nice to have options. That is what revamping the food industry is all about!
 
I can't wait to find this new candy bar and give it a whirl. Unlike other health food products, this is supposed to be more readily available, already selling at CVS and Walgreens and soon coming to other stores such as Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and Target. Woot!
 
And oh yah, UNREAL came about from a 13-year old. Mad that his dad took away his Halloween candy and that his dad was right about how bad candy is for him, he set out to make the healthiest candy he could. way to go kid! And Tom Brady does their commercial. How cool is that!
 

The Kate Upton Incident

Scanning the web today, I saw a lot of articles regarding Kate Upton and how a particular website Skinny Gossip compared her to a cow.

First of all, I had to look up who Kate Upton was: she's a model/actress. (Just in case you wonder, she's in Tower Heist - awesome movie by the way - and The Three Stooges.)

Then I read the original article.

The author called this cannibalism. Excuse me, I think she is only eating a sandwich??

Then the author called Kate a "piggie" here. How does this constitute as being a piggie?? If by piggie you mean cute, then, um, okay, I guessss so. But no, not really.

You can read the rest of the article where she goes on to call Kate plus-size then proceed to get angry like I did. As a dietitian, I know there are lots and lots of personal ideas and beliefs about body size and body image. I have them myself. I don't want to attack on this author persay (although it would be interesting to peruse the "About Me" section where it's suspected that she is pro-anorexia) and I'm sure she doesn't need another virtual enemy after this escapade, but there is a line between where your own ideas belong and where you start calling people names. Granted, "weight" is a double-edged sword, and granted it is your own blog. But talking like that especially in the virtual world where everything is permanent and you can't take it back, in all honesty, makes you sound either jealous or ass-holey.

And Kate isn't even fat! I would love her body. Or okay, her boobs.

Step away from the (refined) carbs!!

From the March 2011 issue of Nutrition Action Health Letter, statistics show that we are eating about 45% more calories from grains, mostly refined. So what, you may ask?

1. Too much carbs can increase triglycerides and lower HDL ("healthy") cholesterol.
Now, whether these carbs in question are whole or refined grains still remain in question. But evidence does show that people on very-high-carb diets tend to develop dyslipidemia, which is a mix of high triglycerides (at least 150 mg/dL) and low HDL (under 50 for women or under 40 for men). Dyslipidemia is in turn associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

2. Limiting refined grains can help lower blood pressure. A Scottish research study showed 5 to 6 points drop in systolic pressure in participants who received three servings of whole-grains per day for 3 months, compared to those who received refined grains. The difference in blood pressure is comparable to taking a blood pressure medication.

3. Whole grains are healthier than refined grains. Whole grains have been shown to lower risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as maintain regularity and provide loads of vitamins and minerals.

4. A diet with whole grains is overall healthier. Products with refined carbs tend to be higher in added sugar and calories. When people focus on choosing foods with whole grains, they are less apt to choose things like sugar-laden desserts or carb-loaded mashed potatoes - not that those are not to be avoided at all, but there are healthier options.

So get out there and find your new favorite whole grain breads, cereals, and products!